Toy furniture.



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APPLICATION ED 7.1917.

o PatentedFeb. 26 1 mun lumnm 918' mum ll/ mm W UNITED STATES PATENT @b ld i il f.

BENJAMIN N. PLATE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOE TO THE PLATT-MASCHEK (10., OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CGEPQRATION OF ILLINOIS.

TOY FURNITURE.

To all "whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN N. PLATT, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Furniture, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to childrens toys and specifically to toy furniture so constructed as to adapt it to be repeatedly dismantled and rebuilt by the child.

It is becoming well recognized that the mental developmentof the child progresses more rapidly when constructive manual work is performed. To this end many forms of toys have been proposed which involve the selecting, assembling and securing together of suitable structural elements. Due to the relative complexity of these devices, however, the necessary mental proc esses are not usually possible among young children. Particularly is this true of the female children whose minds do not readily adapt themselves to the performance of mechanical operations.

I have therefore devised a set of very cheaply constructed, preferably wooden, elements of such simple form as to enable the assembling thereof by young children and those not mechanically inclined. It has been borne in mind, however, that the article when so constructed, must have utility as a toy in order to furnish to the child the incentive for constructing it. To that end I have so designed the members which go to make up the structure that when assembled the article may be utilized as a toy by the child and cannot be distorted as a whole without destructive eifort, notwithstanding the fact that no fastening devices such as bolts, pins or glue are employed. Certain of the parts are interlocked after the manner of a mortise or tenon, that is to say, certain of the horizontal members are provided with two tenons which engage with an equal number of notches or open mortises in the vertical posts. It will be understood that articles such as contemplated by me are relatively small and are constructed of light, soft wood. The frame members are necessarily quite thin and to attempt to unite them by a conventional mortise and tenon would result in very weak joints. The tenon in that case would not be more than Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. 26, 1918.

Serial No. 149,189.

one-half of the thickness of the mortised member and its strength would be slight. In my preferred construction, however, I form, in effect, two tenons by bifurcating the ends of certain of the transverse frame members. These tenons straddle the vertical posts and engage in side :aortises or notches. The transverse members are not weakened materially nor is the strength of the vertical posts greatly reduced for a though some material is removed from opposite sides of the posts when the notches are formed, the tenons fit snugly within the notches and a tendency of the post toward deflecting at he grooves is resisted by the material of the tenons in the grooves. To break the post transversely at the point of the notches requires the crushing of the tenon on one side.

The shelf or web which fills the space transversely between the vertical posts is likewise interlocked in such manner with the posts as to assist in maintaining the integrity of the structure. All the interlock ing connections of the parts are frictionally held, thereby avoiding the necessity for fastening devices or glue.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one article of furniture such as a childs rocking-chair, which may be constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of another article such as a cradle;

Fig. 3 is a collective, perspective view showing the form of connection between transverse and vertical members;

Fig. at is a similar View showing the form of connection between the web or division wall of the articles, and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on a. line just above the plate referred to, at its point of engagement with a vertical post.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the article illustrated therein may include vertical posts 10, 11 and rela tively shorter vertical posts 12, 13. It will be seen that the posts are illustrated as being oblong in cross section and with their major transverse axes in parallelism. The posts are provided with side notches or mortises 14:, 15, parallel with the long axis and shaped to accommodate the two tenons 16, 17., which are formed by bifurcating or notching the ends of the transverse connecting members. The notch 18 thus formed accommodates the web 19, of material, which remains between the two side notches 14c, 15. One long and one short post are in the construction shown in Fig. 1, united in this manner by means of transverse bars or frame members 20, 21, the other pair, consisting of the posts 11, 13, being united in the same manner by means of bars 22, 23. The two frames thus formed are united to form the skeleton by means of transverse members 2 1, 25, 26, 27, which engage with notches formed in the edges of the vertical members. The seat member or transverse web or plate 28, is provided with notches 29, in each of its corners, these notches being adapted to engage with transverse notches 30, in the posts to form an interlocking connection, as best shown in Figs. i and 5. Rockers 31, may be added by slitting the lower ends of the posts.

In the construction shown in Fig. 2 the elements remain the same; that is, there are two long posts 32, 33, and two short posts 3%, 35. In this instance, however, the long and the short posts are not connected by the mortises or tenons but the two long posts and the two short posts are thus connected. The connecting bars 36, for the long posts, and 37, for the short posts, form a pair of rigid structures which are united by the long side bars 38, 39, the ends of which are set into notches in the edges of the posts. A transverse web l0, which acts as a bed, is interlocked with the posts in a manner simi lar to that heretofore described. Rockers a1, may likewise be added to this structure if desired.

The forms shown comprise only a few of many which may be constructed by the use of the simple elements heretofore described. The principal feature lies in the fact that the parts may be readily assembled by the child and the article be used as desired without fear of its becoming accidentally dismantled. No fastening devices are employed the joints being held by frictional engagement only. The elements which go to make up the structure are all interlocked in such manner that the device is substantially an integer.

Not the least of the advantages of the construction is in that the articles may be sold in a knock-clown condition, each article occupying but a very small space. This is of great advantage in handling and shipping as it reduces shipping costs and breakage all Copies along the line from the manufacturer to the user.

As heretofore stated, the modifications shown represent only a few of those which are possible and I do not wish to be limited other than as indicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In toy furniture, the combination of a plurality of vertical posts having side notches, a plurality of horizontal connecting members the ends of which are bifurcated and with the notches in said posts thereby positioning pairs of posts in parallelism, and additional horizontal members connecting said pairs and serving to maintain a plurality of posts in rectangular arrangement the parts being friction-ally held ii s interlockin engagement.

2. in toy furniture, the combination of a 'pair of vertical posts in the form of an oblong rectangle in cross section, the major transverse axes of the posts being in substantial parallelism, said posts having registering side notches, and a horizontal bar having its ends bifurcated and adapted to interfit with said posts at said notches, a plurality of said pairs of posts being suitably connected to form an article of toy furniture, substantially as described.

In a plaything, the combination of a pair of posts having mortises, a transverse bar having tenons in its ends and serving to reinovably connect the posts and maintain he same in parallelism, each of said posts also having a transverse notch, and a second cross bar fitted into said notches and disposed at right angles to said first mentioned bar, all the posts being removably interlocked in such manner as to prevent distortion of the structure as a whole without destructive efiort, substantially as described.

t. In a childs toy, the combination of a rectangular skeleton composed of vertical and horizontal frame members removably held in interlocked engagement and so arranged that destructive effort is required to distort the skeleton as a whole, and a wall 105 interlocked at its corners with the members of the skeleton, substantially as described.

Signed at Chicago, Illinois, this 13th day of February, 1917.

BENJAMIN PLATT.

Witnesses MILTON T. MILLER, GHAS. T. MURRAY.

of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

